Dunlevy, offense no match for defending Eastern PA AAAA champs
By Emily Adelman, Staff Writer, The Times
COATESVILLE — When it rains, it pours.
In a game played during punishing rains, Kennett High School’s football team could not find an umbrella large enough to shield against the deluge of talent coming from the Coatesville football squad. If Kennett hoped the weather was an equalizer against the heavily-favored Red Raiders, they were mistaken.
The Blue Demons (2-5) fell to the Red Raiders (7-0) 56-7 on Friday night.
Kennett Head Coach Scott Green did find a silver lining to the storm cloud that was the game.
“We can definitely learn from them,” Green said, “Coatesville works and trains very hard in the offseason, and we can learn from that. They were just bigger and stronger than we were.”
Coatesville scored 15 points in the first five minutes of play led by senior Daquan Worley, who rushed for 99 yards on four carries, including a 66-yard running touchdown. Worley ended the game with 106 yards and two touchdowns, leaving him 35 yards short of 1,000 on the season.
The scoring started early and often. Red Raiders sophomore quarterback Jordan Young hit junior wide receiver Jay Stocker with a screen pass for a 30-yard gain, giving Coatesville only 15 yards to go for the first score of the game. Young handed off to Worley for the 13-yard gain, and then again for the two-yard touchdown run. With a fumbled snap on the extra point attempt, the Raiders converted the two- point conversion with only a minute and four seconds gone.
Kennett went three and out and Brett Rose’s punt landed on the Coatesville 34 yard line. With one swift hand motion from Young, Worley was off and running for a 66 yard touchdown. A drive lasting 15 seconds, with the Raiders up 15-0.
The balance of the first half Coatesville scoring would come from a 2-yard rush by Young, a 32-yard run from senior running back Isaiah Flamer, a 38-yard run from Stocker and two rushing touchdowns from Junior wide receiver Jalen Hudson.
The first half, culminating in 7 touchdowns, put the Red Raiders up 50-0 at halftime.
The Blue Demons offense had a tough time all night, including six fumbles, an interception, and no running room against the Coatesville defense.
In the second half, with many of the Coatesville starters on the bench, Kennett’s offense saw a break in the clouds.
“They brought in their subs, and that gave us a better opportunity to score,” Green stated. “We just wanted to salvage some pride and get a score.”
Sophomore quarterback Nick Dunlevy, who had been battling bronchitis for the last week, seemed to have found his mark. He threw to senior wide receiver Sean Middleton for six yards. He then handed off to senior running back Liam Clarke for a crucial fourth down conversion. Dunlevy hit senior wide receiver Noah Turner for a 25-yard gain, putting the Demons down at the Coatesville 13 yard line. Dunlevy would chip away at the defense, and Kennett finally got a score on the two-yard run by Clarke.
After an ineffective possession by Coatesville that led to a punt, Kennett’s hope to put up some more points were dashed by a Dunleavy interception that put Coatesville on the Kennett two-yard line. After Young’s QB sneak and a missed extra point, Coatesville was finally done scoring. Kennett received the ball back with eleven minutes remaining and after a sustained seven minutes drive, was forced to punt.
The Raiders would run out the clock for the 56-7 win.
Dunlevy would finish the game 3-4 for 66 yards and one interception, and 9 carries for 27 yards on the ground. Clarke would end the game with 34 yards on 17 caries and a touchdown.
